Reading the Tea Leaves

Tea Education, Consultancy, and Tastings

Archive for Category : Green Teas

At this time of year, much is made of Ming Qian teas at tea markets in China. “Ming” refers to the grave sweeping holiday that comes in the spring, Qing Ming (Clear Bright). “Qian” means before or prior to, so this term refers to teas finished before the Qing Ming holiday. This year Qing Ming [...]

The large and dramatic leaves of Tai Ping Hou Kui Green make this a stunning tea, one that never fails to elicit queries at tea events. Each leaf was laid out by and pressed, fulfilling that often used but not always accurate description of a handcrafted tea. Given the processing story, I always feel I [...]

For most of us, when we think of green teas, the image is of dark green grey leaves. One ideal might be leaves in a Y form, a bud with a leaf or two. Most tend to be grey rather than green, and show single, slender leaves with a slight curl. Regrettably, most Green teas on the market [...]

What is the context for evaluating these teas? “Tip” as in sproutings, from early flushes, comprised of new shoots of the first growth in spring. The tea shown above bears the simple name “Fragrant Leaf,” a generic sort of designation that could well apply to many other teas. The dry leaves resemble pine-needle type teas, [...]

Each spring brings the delightful but sometimes vexing task of selecting Dragonwell (Lungching/Longjing) Green tea. Among all the Green teas sampled and purchased, perhaps the greatest amount of time and effort are spent on this well known Green tea that is invariably associated, at least for marketing purposes, with the scenic West Lake near Hangzhou [...]